Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: Smartphones Get Personal

At this point, do you need to be told about the Google Pixel 6? I mean, everything has been “leaked” for weeks now. We even have the official looks two months ago along with the confirmation of a Google-developed SoC, Tensor. But yeah, the much anticipated Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro Smartphones are official now.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: Smartphones Get Personal

Google Pixel 6’s new design and Google’s first-ever SoC are, IMHO, probably the reasons why we have gotten subpar Pixel phones over the last couple of years.

Never mind what chip the past Pixel phones had because, with the Google Pixel 6 Pro, it is described by Rick Osterloh of Devices and Services at Google as Google’s “first flagship phone”. So, everyone who described any Pixel phone as a flagship phone was so wrong. Apparently, Google never had a flagship phone until now. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the magical world of marketing at work.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro Smartphones

Anywho, at the heart of the devices is the Google Tensor, Google’s first silicon designed with machine learning in mind. The chip enables better and smarter Google Assistant and on-device Google Translate for instant language translation, plus it unlocks new technology like Motion Mode, Face Unblur, Speech enhancement mode for videos, and more.

And then, there’s a new camera system with new sensors, new lenses, and new computation photography, along with a new design that, we have seen one too many times before October 19.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: Smartphones Get Personal

The Google Pixel 6 series really is a smartphone to be excited about. Not just for the design that breaks the stale mold (Google speaks, of course), but also for the new Google chip.

On top of that, the new 6 also gets a slightly better capacity battery (4,614 mAh for the Pixel 6 and 5,003 mAh for the Pro) and wireless charging too. Oh, yes, under-display fingerprint sensor is in order too, along with an IP68 rating across both devices, LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

Skip ahead for a side-by-side rundown of the specifications of the two devices, as well as pricing and availability information.

Google Pixel 6 Pro
Google Pixel 6
DisplayFull-screen 6.7-inch (170 mm) display
QHD+ (1440 x 3120) LTPO OLED at 512 ppi
19.5:9 aspect ratio
Smooth Display (up to 120 Hz)
Full 24-bit depth for 16 million colors
>1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
HDR support
Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™ cover glass
Always-on display
Now Playing
At a Glance
High brightness mode
Full-screen 6.4-inch (163 mm) display
FHD+ (1080 x 2340) OLED at 411 ppi
20:9 aspect ratio
Smooth Display (up to 90 Hz)
Full 24-bit depth for 16 million colors
>1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
HDR support
Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™ cover glass
Always-on display
Now Playing
At a Glance
High brightness mode
ChipsetGoogle Tensor
Titan M2™ security coprocessor
Google Tensor
Titan M2™ security coprocessor
Memory12 GB LPDDR5 RAM
128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB UFS 3.1 storage
8 GB LPDDR5 RAM
128 GB / 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage
CameraRear camera
50 MP Octa PD Quad Bayer wide camera
ƒ/1.85 aperture
LDAF (laser detect auto focus) sensor
OIS (optical image stabilization) on wide and telephoto
82° field of view
1.2 μm pixel width
12 MP ultrawide camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
114° field of view
1.25 μm pixel width
Lens correction
48 MP telephoto camera
ƒ/3.5 aperture
23.5° field of view
0.8 μm pixel width

Front camera
11.1 MP
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Fixed focus
94° ultrawide field of view
1.22 μm pixel width

Features
Night Sight
Top Shot
Portrait Mode
Super Res Zoom
Motion autofocus
Live HDR+
Frequent Faces
Dual Exposure Controls
Cinematic Pan
Ultrawide Lens
Portrait Light
Magic Eraser14
Motion Mode
Real Tone
Face Unblur
Panorama
Manual white balancing
Locked Folder
Rear camera
50 MP Octa PD Quad Bayer wide camera
ƒ/1.85 aperture
LDAF (laser detect auto focus) sensor
OIS (optical image stabilization)
82° field of view
1.2 μm pixel width
12 MP ultrawide camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
114° field of view
1.25 μm pixel width
Lens correction

Front camera
8 MP
ƒ/2.0 aperture
Fixed focus
84° wide field of view
1.12 μm pixel width

Features
Night Sight
Top Shot
Portrait Mode
Super Res Zoom
Motion autofocus
Live HDR+
Frequent Faces
Dual Exposure Controls
Cinematic Pan
Ultrawide Lens
Portrait Light
Magic Eraser14
Motion Mode
Real Tone
Face Unblur
Panorama
Manual white balancing
Locked Folder
BatteryTypical 5003 mAh
Battery can last beyond 24 hours
Up to 48 hours with Extreme Battery Saver
Fast charging
Fast wireless charging
Battery Share: Charge other devices wirelessly
Typical 4614 mAh
Battery can last beyond 24 hours
Up to 48 hours with Extreme Battery Saver
Fast charging
Fast wireless charging
Battery Share: Charge other devices wirelessly
Network[5G Sub 6GHz] Model GLUOG

GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19

LTE: Bands B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/38/39/40/41/42/46/48/66/71

5G Sub-6: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/14/20/25/28/30/38/40/41/48/66/71/77/78

eSIM

[5G mmWave + Sub 6GHz] Model G8VOU

GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19

LTE: Bands B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/38/39/40/41/42/46/48/66/71

5G Sub-6: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/14/20/25/28/30/38/40/41/48/66/71/77/78

5G mmWave: Bands n257/n258/n260/n261

eSIM
5G Sub 6GHz] Model GB7N6

GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19

LTE: Bands

B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/38/39/40/41/42/46/48/66/71

5G Sub-6: Bands

n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/14/20/25/28/30/38/40/41/48/66/71/77/78

eSIM

[5G mmWave + Sub 6GHz]

Model G9S9B

GSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1,2,4,5,6,8,19

LTE: Bands

B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/38/39/40/41/42/46/48/66/71

5G Sub-6: Bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/14/20/25/28/30/38/40/41/48/66/71/77/78

5G mmWave: Bands n257/n258/n260/n261

eSIM
ConnectivityWi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2.4G+5GHz+6GHz, HE160, MIMO

Bluetooth® v5.2 with dual antennas for enhanced quality and connection

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) chip for accurate ranging and spatial orientation

Google Cast

USB Type-C® 3.1 Gen 1

Dual SIM (Single Nano SIM and eSIM)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) with 2.4G+5GHz+6GHz, HE160, MIMO

Bluetooth® v5.2 with dual antennas for enhanced quality and connection

Google Cast

USB Type-C® 3.1 Gen 1

Dual SIM (Single Nano SIM and eSIM)
LocationDual Band GNSS
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
Dual Band GNSS
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
SensorsNFC
Under-display fingerprint sensor
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Accelerometer
Gyrometer
Magnetometer
Barometer
NFC
Under-display fingerprint sensor
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
Accelerometer
Gyrometer
Magnetometer
Barometer
AudioStereo speakers
3 microphones
Noise suppression
Stereo speakers
3 microphones
Noise suppression
VideoRear camera
4K video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS
1080p video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS

Front camera
4K video recording at 30 FPS
1080p video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS

Features
Cinematic Pan
Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS
4K Timelapse with stabilization
Astrophotography timelapse
Optical image stabilization
Fused video stabilization
4K Cinematic Pan video stabilization
4K Locked video stabilization
1080p Active video stabilization
Digital zoom up to 20x

Video formats: HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264)

Audio
Stereo recording
Speech enhancement
Wind noise reduction
Audio zoom
Rear camera
4K video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS
1080p video recording at 30 FPS, 60 FPS

Front camera
1080p video recording at 30 FPS

Features
Cinematic Pan
Slo-mo video support up to 240 FPS
4K Timelapse with stabilization
Astrophotography timelapse
Optical image stabilization
Fused video stabilization
4K Cinematic Pan video stabilization
4K Locked video stabilization
1080p Active video stabilization
Digital zoom up to 7x

Video formats: HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264)

Audio
Stereo recording
Speech enhancement
Wind noise reduction
Audio zoom
Dimensions6.5 height x 3.0 width x 0.4 depth (inches)

163.9 height x 75.9 width x 8.9 depth (mm)

210 g

7.41 oz
6.2 height x 2.9 width x 0.4 depth (inches)

158.6 height x 74.8 width x 8.9 depth (mm)

207 g

7.30 oz
ColorsCloudy White, Sorta Sunny, Stormy Black
Sorta Seafoam, Kinda Coral, Stormy Black
OSAndroid 12Android 12
Others5 years of Pixel updates including security updates, Camera and mic toggles, Private Compute Core, Edgeless Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™ back with polished alloy frame, IP68 water and dust resistance, Fingerprint-resistant coating5 years of Pixel updates including security updates, Camera and mic toggles, Private Compute Core, Edgeless Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™ back with polished alloy frame, IP68 water and dust resistance, Fingerprint-resistant coating
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Google Pixel 6 starts at US$599 and the Pro model starts at US$899. Pre-order is happening at store.google.com as we speak.

The phones will be available on store shelves with all major U.S. carriers starting on October 28, 2021.

All images courtesy of Google.